Microchip Technology nanoWatt XLP Resource Center enables research, trial, collaboration at element14

Design engineers invited to learn interactively about next-generation extreme
low power PIC® MCU design solutions

LONDON--(Business Wire)--
element14, a new online technology resource and community for electronic design
engineers has launched a dedicated, interactive Microchip Technology nanoWatt
XLP Resource Center on its site, providing engineers a single place to download
critical technical documentation, ask questions to industry experts and share
low power technology experiences with colleagues around the world. The site can
be accessed at:
http://www.element-14.com/community/community/suppliers/microchip/nanowatt_xlp

"Microchip has a broad offering of more than 50 8- and 16-bit PIC®
microcontrollers with nanoWatt XLP eXtreme Low Power technology, for the world`s
lowest sleep currents-as low as 20 nA-enabling battery life of up to 20 years.
The PIC microcontroller XLP portfolio provides designers with a rich and
compatible low-power migration path that includes on-chip peripherals for USB
and mTouch capacitive touch sensing," said Malcolm Campbell, Microchip`s Global
Channel Sales director. "Our eXtreme Low Power MCUs, along with an extensive
offering of all Microchip products, are available off-the-shelf from Newark and
Farnell (and Premier Electronics in China). The latest addition to their
comprehensive offering is the new XLP Community within element14, which brings
together all aspects of Microchip`s XLP product offering, while enabling
engineers to collaborate and discuss the benefits and applications of XLP for
their designs."

"The ability for element14 to showcase technologies, such as Microchip`s
nanoWatt XLP technology, is making a difference to electronic design engineers
around the world who are under immense pressure to develop products with very
fast time to market and meet a plethora of legislative and environmental
criteria", says Joanne Volakakis, Global Marketing Manager. "We are thrilled
that Microchip has seen the inherent opportunities of element14 and have worked
with us to create this space."

The element14site was launched in June, and brings Web 2.0 to the global design
engineering community, along with open access to more than 10,000 technical
documents. Unlike mainstream social networks, element14 users can, not only
broadcast their personal status and discuss and post content, but also
collaborate on designs in a public, restricted or private space.

Editor Note:

A high- and low-resolution screenshot of the element14 Microchip webpage is
available at: http://www.pinnaclecrc.com/PR_PICTURES/Premier_Farnell/PF265/

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of
microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product
development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of
diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona,
Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery
and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at
http://www.microchip.com.

About element14

element14 is a new, innovative information portal and eCommunity specifically
built for electronic design engineers. It provides product data, design tools
and technology information, whilst incorporating web 2.0 functionality to
facilitate communication, interaction, collaboration and information sharing
between colleagues around the world. Users can consult experts, discover trends,
post blogs, articles and comments in this world-wide forum.

element14 is another innovative offering from Premier Farnell plc (LSE:PFL),
FTSE 250, a leader in multi-channel distribution and specialty services for
electronic design engineers throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. It
has a stocked range of 480,000+ products, and access to 4,000,000 more items
from 3,500 top manufacturers. The company has group sales of £804.4m and over
4,100 employees globally.

For more information about element14 visit: www.element-14.com.

Note: PIC is a registered trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and
other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their
respective companies.

Shannon Leano
element14 PR
Strategic Project Marketing Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7851 4125
E-mail:
sleano@premierfarnell.com
or
Janice Fleisher
element14 PR
Communications Americas
Tel: +001 (1) 773 907 5941
Email: jfleisher@newark.com
or
Hui-Yun Chen
element14 PR
Communications APAC
Tel: +65 6380 3239
E-mail: hychen@premierfarnell.com
or
Jonathan Roberts
Account Director
Pinnacle Marketing Communications, Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8869 9339
E-mail: j.roberts@pinnaclemarcom.com
or
Claire Haikings
element14 PR
Communications Europe
Tel: +44 (0) 133 2790101 ext 3433
Email: chaikings@farnell.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009